YuGiOh: Darkened Souls
by djb21212-Steeldramon21
Summary: This is the first angst story I've done in a while. Yugi learns about YamiTea's relationship and takes it horribly. When he ends up in the Shadow Realm, a journey to save his own soul will begin. The couples won't be revealed until the end. Sorry! Enjoy!
1. Default Chapter

Yu-Gi-Oh: Darkened Soul  
  
Written by: Steeldramon21  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is owned by KidsWB and 4Kids Entertainment.  
  
Plot: In this story, Yugi figures out the reality of Yami and Tea's relationship and takes it pretty hard. To make both of them happy, he decides to do the only thing: only one of them can permanently exist. Meanwhile, Yami Bakura plans his revenge for escaping the Shadow Realm. The couples will be at the end of this story. Enjoy!  
  
Characters:  
  
Yugi/Yami Yugi  
Joey  
Tristan  
Tea  
Bakura  
  
  
  
Warning: This story will have heavy amounts of angst. This is an AU where Yami and Yugi are separate people now.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: Descent into Darkness  
  
  
  
Midnight. A time when most of the people of Domino City are asleep. It wasn't this way for Yugi Muuto. He sat awake in his bedroom for the third sleepless night in a row. It had been this way since he learned the truth.  
  
He had summoned the courage to finally do something he had wanted to do for years, ask Tea Gardner on a date. Out of the many friends he made, she was the one closest to him. She was the only girl he had ever loved, the only one with a special place in his heart. Her crystalline-blue eyes shone with a compassion for anyone who witnessed it, friend or enemy alike. Yugi valued this about her for as long as they had known each other. But what she said when he asked her out shattered his hope.  
  
"Yugi, I'm sorry but I'm already going out with Yami."  
  
Within a matter of seconds, stretched out to an eternity, the sound of that name crushed Yugi's hopes. Tea was in love with his Yami, the darker side of himself that resided in the Millennium Puzzle. The mysterious spirit would possess Yugi during most duels, forcing the boy to watch as he won time after time. Now, though his dueling days are behind him, Yugi's suspictions have finally been proven. Yami's heart of the cards was Tea.  
  
Yugi rolled onto his side and felt the pain in his heart, the gaping emptiness within him growing as he thought. His Yami and his secret crush had become lovers since that day, living the relationship that Yugi wanted so badly. He didn't have the boldness and will of his Yami but he was more than willing to prove his bravery. During the final duel with Pegasus, he himself almost died from the stress of being in the Shadow Realm. It was the only risk he could take to help his Yami win. If he had known that after the duel was over that this would happen, he would have willed himself to finish on his own. Now, his Yami was much bigger in the eyes of his friends and in Tea's heart.  
  
Yugi got off of the bed and almost collapsed, his mind dizzy from the thoughts in his head. The anguish had gotten to the point where it was nearly unbearable. All of his friends started to get worried about him, unaware of his pain and sadness. Suddenly a thought raced across his mind that almost stopped his heart:  
  
What if Yami and Tea go farther?  
  
Yugi struggled to his feet and climbed back into bed, aware of the beating of his heart as it pounded. The thought of the two of them having sex, something left to couples who mean to spend their lives together, distressed him. Still, Yugi was reluctant to cry as he closed his eyes and prepared to sleep away his pain. He had grown accustomed to hiding his tears. No one knew about it, not even his Yami. As he drifted to sleep, his dreams were filled with the same images of his beloved Tea. He would long to hold her close, to taste the tender sweetness of her lips. The images would shift to that of Tea and Yami and the pain would return.  
  
Yugi awoke in a cold sweat from the nightmare. He was starting to call his sanity into question. It wasn't until the next day that he would be proven right. After school, everyone had gathered outside to watch Joey duel Yugi's Yami. He had come a long way since the Duelist Kingdom and his skills had improved since then. Of course, Yami won without question. Later, Yugi watched everyone congratulate Yami and finally understood. Yami deserved to be here, having everyone respect and admire him. He was only in the way, a figure to be put aside. With tears in his amethyst eyes, he walked away with the knowledge of what had to be done. Tea watched as her friend walked away, feeling a sense of sadness in her heart as she thought.  
  
"Poor Yugi. He looks so sad and lonely, like a part of his soul is missing."  
  
"You felt it too?" Yami said to her, having also felt a deep sense of sadness from his aibou.  
  
"Yeah. I'm scared that Yugi's going to do something horrible to himself."  
  
"I'll find him." With that, Yami ran after his friend and dueling protegee, worried that whatever he was goign through would hurt them both. After several minutes, he found Yugi on the roof of the school. "Yugi, what are you doing?" Yami asked.  
  
"After thinking about it, this is the only solution." Yugi said softly. "I see how everyone respects and admires you, how much they value you. It was never like that for me. My entire life, I've been bullied and pushed aside like I was nothing. Now, I realize that I AM nothing. I never was."  
  
"Yugi, listen to me." Yami tried to say.  
  
"No, you listen to me!" Yugi snapped as he turned around, tears clouding his vision. "You're the type of person I should have been! Your boldness and courage is everything I'm not! You have everything... and everyone I care about." Yugi turned away, preparing himself for what he was about to do. "Only one of us can exist for good and it's got to be you, not me. I'm sorry." He then tossed Yami his deck of dueling cards and stepped onto the ledge.  
  
"Yugi, wait!" Yami shouted. "There's another way!"  
  
"No, there isn't." Yugi whispered, turning to his friend one last time. "Take care of Tea. She loves you, you know." With that, he jumped off.  
  
"YUGI!!!" Yami cried out as he ran to the ledge, watching helplessly as his aibou fell to his possible death. Suddenly, there was a flash of dark light and Yugi vanished. Yami looked in horror as he stepped away from the edge, realizing what had happened to his aibou. By trying to kill himself, his soul is in the one place where he can't help him. Just then, Tea and the others had rushed up to the roof, noticing that Yami was there and Yugi wasn't.  
  
"Where's Yugi?" Tea asked desperately. "What happened?"  
  
"He's gone." Yami said with regret. "He vanished to the one place where I can't help him. The Shadow Realm."  
  
"This can't be happening." Tea said sorrowfully, tears beginning to form in her own eyes. "Yugi just can't be gone."  
  
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Yugi opened his eyes and found himself standing in a dark void. There was nothing but shadows as far as he could see. He knew immediately where he was.  
  
"The Shadow Realm?" Yugi thought to himself in surprise. "How did I get here? The last thing that I remember is jumping from the school's roof and then... I ended up here." He sat down and thought about his situation. "I guess I deserve to be here since no one wants me around."  
  
"That's ridiculous and you know it, Yugi." Yugi looked up and, to his surprise, saw Bakura standing there with a concerned look on his face. "What are you doing here in the Shadow Realm when you should be back in our world?" 


	2. Chapter 2: Revelations

Chapter 2: Revelations  
  
  
  
Note: In this chapter, Tea and Yami learn about why Yugi tried to kill himself and make a decision. Also, Yugi begins his fight to save his soul from the Shadow Realm. Finally, the Bakura in the Shadow Realm is Ryou Bakura's Yami.  
  
  
  
Tea sat on one of the benches outside of school, her crystalline blue eyes filled with sorrow. Yugi was gone, vanished into the Shadow Realm. For the last few hours, all of them had tried to find him without success. Yami, of course, was worried about his aibou's safety. Still, none of them were more worried about him than she was.  
  
"Oh Yugi..." Tea said sorrowfully as she looked into the evening sky, seeing the first stars of the evening appear. The shimmering reminded her of the glint of friendship in Yugi's eyes. Tears began to cloud her vision as she thought again of her friend.  
  
"Are you all right, Tea?" She looked up after hearing the familiar voice of Yami.  
  
"I'm worried about Yugi." Tea admitted. "The last time he was pulled into the Shadow Realm was in his duel with Pegasus."  
  
"I know and remember." Yami decided to do the most honorable thing he could do for his aibou, especially after thinking over what Yugi said to him before he vanished. "Tea, there's something you don't know about what happened to Yugi."  
  
"There is?"  
  
"Yes, and it concerns our relationship as well. A few hours ago, I went back to the game shop to see if I could find soemthing to tell me why Yugi's soul is in so much pain. I was about to leave when I saw this near the trash." Yami then handed Tea a piece of paper. When she opened it, her crystalline eyes immediately began to tear once more. It read:  
  
Dear Tea,  
  
I wish there was another way I could say this, but I guess this is the only way I can. For the longest time, ever since the day we first met, you had always been my best friend. You were the one I could go to when something was on my mind, when I needed to just talk to someone. We would spend so much time together, either studying for school or just hanging out playing Duel Monsters with Joey and Tristan. The cheerful look in your eyes was enough to make anyone smile. It was something I'd always look forward to every day.  
  
Tea, this isn't easy for me to say but here goes. For a while now, I started having feelings for you. When Bakura's Yami abducted our souls and made us into Duel Monsters in the Shadow Realm, the last thing I wanted to do was put you in danger. Joey, Tristan and I knew that if you were played, you would be sent to the graveyard and I couldn't stand that. When I had to duel Kaiba for the second time on Pegasus's castle and I lost control of Yami, my spirit was broken to the point where I never wanted to duel again. I thought that I'd lost my chance to save Grandpa forever. You cried with me that day and even dueled Mai to win some star chips for me. I never told anyone this, but the only reason that I kept dueling despite what happened was because of you. Your friendship and faith in me was one of the reasons that I kept going. After a while, it got to the point where I didn't want to go another day without hearing your voice, seeing the happiness in your eyes, or the gentleness of your smiles.  
  
Tea, I guess what I'm trying to say is that... I love you. I love you in a way that's a lot more than just friendship. Still, even now when you're with Yami, I still feel this love for you. I know you'd never feel the way I feel but it's something I had to say. I hope that we'll still be friends, though.  
  
Your friend,  
Yugi  
  
"Yugi..." Tea said softly as she folded the paper closed. Never in her wildest imagination had she thought that Yugi's feelings for her ran this deeply. "Why didn't you tell me?" She then turned to Yami, who could sense what she was about to say to him. "Yami, I'm sorry. I care about you but..."  
  
"I understand, Tea." Yami said with a tinge of regret in his voice. "Believe me, if I had any idea, I never would have dishonored Yugi like this." He then clapsed her hand one last time. "I think that at least we should remain friends."  
  
"I'd like that." The two of them then looked into the evening sky, seeing the stars appear one by one and hoping that their frined was all right.  
  
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"I'm not surprised to see you here, Yugi." Yami Bakura said evilly to Yugi. "You were never living up to your fullest potential in that world anyway. You were always second place in your friends' lives. At least here, you don't have to deal with those feelings of neglect and pity." He then held out his hand to Yugi. "I'm offering you a choice, especially since you don't have to deal with HIS presence any longer. The Millennium Puzzle is useless to you as it is now, but surrender it to me and I can give you more power than you've ever dreamed. You could get revenge on all those who had hurt you, all those who had killed your spirit."  
  
"Is he right?" Yugi thought to himself. "Am I just pitied by all my friends? Am I really just second place in their lives? Maybe I really do belong here, since this is where evil spirits were banished. Maybe I should give up my puzzle."  
  
"For someone who has faith in the heart of the cards, you have a severe lack of faith in yourself." Yugi looked up and noticed his surroundings change. His grandfather was standing before him, as he would sometimes when he dueled in the past. "Listen to me, Yugi. You've done a great deal since you tried to rescue me from Pegasus. You've proved to your opponents and to yourself that there is a heart to the cards. If you give up your puzzle, you'll be forsaking that belief."  
  
"But Grandpa," Yugi said, "you don't understand. The only reason I'm here is because no one out there, except for you, cares enough about me."  
  
"That's ridiculous." Grandpa replied. "You have many friends, Yugi. You were the one to show Kaiba that Duel Monsters is more than just power. You showed Joey how to believe in himself to become a great duelist and help his sister. You showed Mai that she couldn't go through life without real friends. Finally, you showed Tea what it means to be a true friend. So you see, Yugi, a great many people care about you."  
  
"Grandpa's right." Yugi thought to himself. "If I give in, I'll be letting everyone down. I do have friends who care about me. I should have thought about that before. I know what I have to do now and it's not surrendering my puzzle to this thief of souls." Suddenly, his Millennium Puzzle glowed brightly, filling Yugi with warmth and confidence. His surroundings changed again to the Shadow Realm. He stood to his feet and looked Yami Bakura directly into his eyes.  
  
"I thought about your offer and I've decided." Yugi said with more confidence than he's had in months. "If you want it, you'll have to duel me for it." At once, his dueling deck appeared in his hand. Yami Bakura grit his teeth in anger.  
  
"So be it, little Yugi." Yami Bakura hissed. "You will find that this Shadow Game will be unlike any you've played before. Not only will I claim your puzzle, but your soul will be locked here for all eternity."  
  
"So be it." Yugi said bravely, letting the magic of his puzzle fill him. "Prepare yourself, soul stealer, because it's time to duel!" 


End file.
